Someone Else's Star
by In The Loft
Summary: He supposes it starts with Victoire and Teddy. / James Sirius Potter has never been in love.


**I own nothing. Except Ellie, Alice, Tanya, Jake, Cassie, Chloe, Alex, Michael, and Rory. So basically if you recognize it it's probably not mine. ;) *Also - there is some shounen ai in here so if you're not comfortable with that just skip Molly's (third paragraph)***

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><p>He supposes it starts with Victoire. Victoire and Teddy (<em>the<em>_Golden__Couple_). You could see them in the common room, or walking round the grounds in the twilight. _Blonde __and __blue, __and __red, __and __yellow ._His hair was always blue; an ode to his mother's crazy, but bubblegum pink isn't something guys (_like __Teddy)_do. She was a Gryffindor – _pure, __and __brave, __and __the __perfect __Weasley __child._He was a Hufflepuff – _kind, __and __loyal __and __sweet._After them everything was VictoireandTeddy, TeddyandVictoire, WeasleyandLupin, LupinandWeasley. They're perfect – and he (James Sirius Potter the second, prank master extraordinaire, extremely manly bloke, who does _not_spend time dwelling on love... or use the word dwell) wants that.

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><p>Then it's Fred. Fred and Ellie Longbottom. <em>Cute.<em>That's what they are – cute – everyone says it. Fred's happier than he ever was, and it's all _holding __hands __and __cards __on __Valentine__'__s __Day, __and __whispering__ '__iloveyou__'__. _Sickening, says Roxi, rolling her eyes. So cute (_there__'__s __that __word __again)_says Lily, twisting her hair around her finger. Al and James tackle her, and glower at any boy who gets within a three inch radius of her for days afterwards. _He __wants __that._

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><p>Molly's next. Red hair, glasses, oversized jumpers. She meets her <em>onetruelove<em>in the library, crashes into a bookshelf, and gets concussed. You know – your typical (_Weasley) _beginning of the 'happy ever after' ending (_that __he __wants)_. Except people aren't so accepting of love sometimes, he realises, when people start avoiding Molly. _You __know __the __Weasley __girl __in Ravenclaw__? __The __one __who__'__s __always __reading? __She__'__s __going __out __with __a __**girl**. _Tanya's all leather jackets, loose tie and short skirt, and she beats people up when they hurt _her M__olly._They're about trust, and solidarity, and _secret __smiles __in __the __corridor. __He __wants __that._

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><p>They're out in the grounds, stretching curfew, wandering round the lake. She's a <em>star, <em>and he's an _angel. _According to each other. (_Dominique__and__Lysander_). They're _inlove_and it's _beautiful. _He'll take Rose's word for it, he's torn between ignoring his former favourite female cousin, and making damn sure the guy treats her the way she deserves. (_Lysander __does, __because __he __loves __her.__He __tells __her __under __the __stars __one __night, __and __she __kisses __him, __and __yes __alright, __James __wants th__at __too.)_

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><p>Next to go is Louis (<em>who<em>_'__s __always __been __sort__of__a__player,__but __falls __hardhardhard)._ That's when they're introduced to _unrequited__love, _because she has a boyfriend, and is the only girl in Hogwarts who won't look at the beautiful blonde boy and feel her heart start racing. So Louis retreats into himself, _can__'__t __stop __looking __at __her,_does anything and everything to distract himself (and that includes an incident with pills, but they all pull him through that)_,__and_ _he __**still **__can__'__t __stop __looking __at __her._(And yet James still wants to feel something like that, because despite all the tears, and heartache, and days away from the sun, it's _love_isn't it?)

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><p>Rose meets Jake on the Hogwarts Express one year, and he's apparently <em>perfect.<em>She's bright, and vivacious, and _hates __Scorpius __Malfoy,_and he's funny, and smart, and _Ravenclaw. _Even Ron can't fault him (and it can't be proved that he paid Hugo to keep an eye on them in school) but there's a good example of a relationship that _just __doesn__'__t __work __out._They blow up at each other two months into dating _officially._She screams that _Lily __saw __you __with __Miranda __coming __out __of __the __broom __closet,_and he yells that _you__'__re __in __love __with __Malfoy!_(OK, James doesn't want the argument, or the break up, but he does want the _inside __jokes _and the assurance that _s/he__'__s **t**_**_he __one!)_**

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><p>The Hogwarts gossip mill has a field day when <em>Albus <em>_Severus __Potter_ announces to the world (_and __his __parents)_that he is in _love _with _Cassandra __Silver_**(Slytherin, ****mind****you)**and kisses her in the Great Hall in front of _everyone. _'Who else saw that coming?' Lucy asks, stealing some pancakes from her sister's plate, as _JamesLilyFredRose _watch in horror. _One __of t__hem __had __to __fall __for __a S__lytherin._The family are (_eventually_) okay with it, and suddenly there's a new golden (silver) couple in Hogwarts history, and yes James _wants _that, and it's getting a bit ridiculous now – did he lose out on some all important lesson that taught you how to fall in love?

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><p>"This is Chloe. We've been dating for two months. She wanted to meet you. Don't be too crazy, I really like (<em>love) <em>her," Hugo says, preceding a petite blonde into the living room of the Weasley-Granger household, and making Hermione spill coffee over the nice new rug. Chloe laughs at Hugo's jokes, and he nods and smiles when she asks if her baking's alright, and they sit by the fire in the Gryffindor common room til midnight and smile and laugh and _forget __things __when __the __other __one __enters __the __room,_and his IQ drops by about ten points whenever she giggles, and all James can think is '_Okay, __come __on!__' _

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><p>Somewhere along the way Roxi lost the cynicism, and ended up kissing Alex in the rain one evening. Fred threatened him with death by pranking, and Ellie held him back. <em>How <em>_did __they __last __so __long?_When Roxi falls from her broom in a Quidditch practice, he hits the ground running, picks her up and carries her all the way to the Hospital Wing, and doesn't leave her bedside until she orders him _out __or __I __will __break __up __with __you!_(She wouldn't have, because whenever she looks at him she can't stop smiling, and confided in Lily that _his __voice __is __kinda __my __favourite __sound...)._And he watches them be sickeningly cute_(__'__you__'__ll __put __me __off __my __food__'__,__ '__I__'__m __going __to __need __to __get __a __filling __after __spending __an __hour __with __you __two__'__)_ in the Great Hall, and wonders if there's something wrong with him.

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><p>Victoire and Teddy tie the knot that summer, and all the adults cry, and she looks <em>gorgeous, <em>and Teddy can't stop _grinning,_ and when _Magic __Works _plays in the warm evening, FredandEllie, MollyandTanya, DomandLysander,AlandCassie, HugoandChloe, RoxiandAlex, VictoireandTeddyall look like they've forgotten anyone else exists, and Louis tastes his first firewhisky, and Rose glowers at the stars, and he looks at Alice Longbottom sitting on his right, and they both roll their eyes, but all he's thinking is _why__not__me?_

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><p>That autumn, Lily gets her first boyfriend. James and Al kick up one huge fuss, and Cassie rolls her eyes in the background, and smirks at Lily, who grins right back (woah, when did <em>they <em>become friends – he missed that memo), but Michael Thomas meets the parents and is only slightly freaked out by the grandeur and _scary_of Grimmauld Place. Lily doesn't say the word _love _until it slips out during a sleepover in the Christmas holidays, and Molly, Lucy, Dom, Roxi, Cassie and Chloe all cheer and hug her, and at breakfast the next morning James and Al send death glares to their sister, and there's a pit of jealousy in his stomach, and he tries to ignore all of those _stupid__happy__couples_for as long as he can.

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><p>New Year's Eve comes, and he is reminded that he's reached <em>seventeen<em> without ever falling in love when Scorpius Malfoy gatecrashes the Potter party and – taking out a very fake piece of mistletoe kisses Rose Weasley (Ron almost has a heart attack_)._"You're late," Rose reprimands. "Oh, I know, but I thought you might hex me if I just kissed you,"' he replies, looking at the mistletoe. "I meant with this," Rose scoffs, and kisses him again. And James sits there – squashed between _FredandEllie_and Alice, and decides he already hates the new year, because he _wants __that._

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><p>Al and Cassie break up that year, on their <em>One<em>_Year__Anniversary_ ('ironic' says Lily, hugging her brother that evening as he stares into the fire, mumbling things that sound like insults to redheaded, green eyed Slytherins. '_I __hate __you__' _she screams at him, tears coming down her face. It's a proper argument, and the whole family's shaken up about it. But James is still sort of jealous of the _feeling._

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><p>Then <em>Lucy <em>(Little Lucy) gets a crush on Rory Finnegan and he better watch his back because she's got eleven overprotective cousins (and Teddy). But seeing them dance together at Fred's seventeenth birthday party makes it _almost _worth it, because she looks so sweet in a yellow dress, and he obviously likes (_are __they __allowed __to __say __love __at __thirteen?) _her, so they won't hex him just yet. And James must be wishing on someone else's star or something, because is there any other explanation?

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><p>Then it's his graduation, and he (<em>Potter) <em>is sitting directly behind Alice (_Longbottom)_and feeling that life _sucks. _(Did you know that Al and Cassie got back together yesterday after he stood on the table and announced his undying love for her to the whole Hall... And got them both a detention to boot. Yes, James _is _annoyed that his little brother's been in love, and he hasn't. How could you tell?) So his name's called, and he goes up to the front to collect his certificate, and Mum and Dad are waving from the back, and beaming at him. "_We __did __it!__" _Alice whispers as he sits back down. It hits him then (_God, __he__'__s __slow!)_that he's sort-of-maybe-slightly-almost been in love with one of his best friends since... Well, it probably began at about ten different moments, and it'll probably (_never_) end there too. So at the party the Potters hold for their son (and Fred, and Alice, and Ellie) he kisses her, and the whole family are _silent _for a moment (_he __really __should __have __done __this __sooner)_and then they start cheering because _James __Sirius __Potter __(the __second) __is __in __like __**(love) **_with one of his best friends and it's the _best __feeling __in t__he __world._

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><p><em>Well, it seems to me that the best relationships— the ones that last— are frequently the ones that are rooted in friendship. You know, one day you look at the person and you see something more than you did the night before. Like a switch has been flicked somewhere. And the person who was just a friend is suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with. <em>

**Review? Favourite couples, moments, anything? :/**


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